School's Out

At least for 4 of the grands, the 2014 school year is over...2 are still working and counting the days!  End of year events included:  South Middle School academic awards night, dance recital, and piano recital.

                        Brooklyn receiving her recognition of academic excellence plus one "achievement"

                                After the performance, Brooklyn posed with her bouquet.

                                 Bailey performs for the FIRST time at the piano recital...

                                She always plays for us at home, but never felt ready to perform in public.  She was wonderful!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Reed and I were going to do the "tour" on Sunday...go see each of our kids at their homes, but Missy insisted that we get together!  (We were just together for Mia's party Saturday night, but that wasn't enough!)

 So, here are the grands...Cache would not let me take his picture, and my darling children ran from me, as well.  No one wanted their picture taken yesterday...not even me!  So, the party went on without much documentation.  Ah, well, I love them all.  Glad I'm their mom and gramma :)

Birthday Party!

Mia is the second of three granddaughters who turn "12" this year...a big day for each of the girls! 

                         The only sugar she will get all year is loaded into that cake...she was willing to suffer a tummy ache to celebrate chocolate-style!

                              Hot pink hangers?  Every fashionista should have 'em!

Celebrating Our Survivors!

Boise gets very little rain, on average, but THIS weekend, starting Friday, it POURED.  Saturday morning...still pouring...we had registered to participate (I won't say run) in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.  At 8:30 A.M., the sun began to peek through the clouds.  At 9:00, race time, it was full-on sunshine and beautiful!!  They cranked up the music, Brooklyn danced...and away we went. 

                                          Make sure we find a cure!!!!  The race is on.

Spring Garden Tour

When Spring arrives in Boise, it is a beautiful sight...I love to see what's popping up.

This little pansy is a volunteer!  Peeking out at the base of one of my rose bushes. Surprise!

"Men" In Black

Brooklyn auditioned for her school talent show, performing a cha cha to a cut from the soundtrack of "Men In Black" (something with Pitbull (?) and a Peaches and Herb remake)...I can sing it, but don't have a clue what it's called!  Soooo, after several weeks of after-school practicing, the big night arrived.  There were singers, instrumentalists, lyrical dancers, and the ballroom team of Brooklyn and Tyler.  They brought down the house!  Midway through their performance, the entire audience spontaneously started clapping along...wow! Goosebumps!  Brooklyn was so excited. I was so wound up I didn't get a photo on my camera until afterwards. 

Happy Easter!

                                                     Ready...GO

We gathered at Jay and Christa's for dinner and the traditional Easter Egg Hunt.  The moms and I filled eggs with a little bit of candy and a lot of little gifties.  Boys are hard to find little doodad thingies to put in their eggs.  Girls...simple...I got lots of pairs of earrings, rings, nail polish, etc.  I put $$ in eggs for Cache; Durham just enjoyed the candy.  So, after the hunt, there was much swapping, since Durham opened his first egg, found a pair of earrings and asked, "What the heck is this?"  He's 2.  Give him the candy! 

Las Vegas: Spring Break II

 We wanted to see some shows, eat great food, get there fast...where else? Vegas!

                   We stayed at New York New York...nice room, comfy bed!

                  Ate at the Wynn Buffet...our favorite...and enjoyed the floral display.

                        We saw the Terry Fator show at the Mirage, and Cirque du Soleil  Mystere at T.I.  We enjoyed both so much...Terry Fator sang in his own voice during his act; kind of surprised the audience.  Reed is a big fan of Cirque du Soleil...loves the gymnastic tricks and feats of strength!

Ate a "cronut" for breakfast one morning, DuPar's for pancakes another...had a little mishap with our transportation on our return from Fremont Street.  Our bus took the front end off a car (car driver's fault), so we had to exit the bus, walk to the next stop, catch another bus...whew.  No injuries, thank goodness.  Our other food adventures included a burger, sweet potato fries, and a milkshake at Burgr (Gordon Ramsey's)...too much food!!

We also enjoyed a Leonardo da Vinci exhibit at The Venetian.  A lovely way to learn!

Spring Break

I arrived home from K.C. on Sunday, began my long-term sub in the other 5th grade on Monday!  My teacher waited until I got back from my trip to have her baby!!  Perfect timing!  When I knew I would be teaching March and April, and Spring break would be in the middle, we arranged 2 fun trips: first to Idaho Falls to watch Brooklyn participate in the Gem State Classic ballroom dance competition...

                                       Pre-syllabus practice in the hallway...

                           On the dance floor, being judged through semis, quarter-finals, and finals

                                              Receiving their medals...

                                   Third in cha cha, second in swing, FIRST in waltz!!

                                         We are "mad, hot" for ballroom!!

Surprise!!!!

Karen's kids arranged for me to fly to Kansas City to BE the surprise for my sister's birthday!  Danny picked me up at the airport, on the drive to Olathe, he called his mom, "Are you home?"  She was, and when we arrived, I got out of the car, rang her doorbell...I could hear her coming to the door saying, "Who's at the door? Nobody comes to my front door." 

                     More surprises at her door...flowers from her youngest grandson!

                 Since we couldn't go to Mexico this year, we brought Mexico to her...

                                          A little "in-house" entertainment...

                                          Just her kids, Karen and me...AND fried ice cream!

                                          Her official party at Kelly's

                                         with the Kansas grandkids (except Taylor)

2014 Began...

 Bellamie started playing basketball, blonde pony flying, could dribble, shoot and score!  (First grade)

Cache played on a select basketball team, learned a lot, and played for the league championship...lost.  Can't find any photos of him!